Rotary kiln



J. [-1. TAYLOR ROTARY KILN Oct. 13, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. l6, 1957 INVENTOR- JOHN H- TAYLOR Byy zvflm AT TORNEY O -'13, 1 J. H. TAYLOR 2,908,179

ROTARY KILN Filed Aug. 16, 1957 e Sheets-Sheet a \l Q 5 o :1 I: 1

XAXIS b r 103 ATToRNEy J. H. TAYLOR ROTARY KILN Filed Aug. 16, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. JOHN H- -TAYLOR lllll Oct.- 13, 1959 V J. H. TAYLOR 2,908,179

ROTARY KILN Filed Aug. 16. 1957 6 Sheets- 511961. e

IN ENTOR. JUHN H. TAYLOR A T TORNE Y U it d WQ QFWQ l} ROT'A'RY c :John .H. Ellaylor, lEerguson, Mo., zassignor'tto Wulcanslron Works, Wilkes-Barre, 2a,, a icpnporation iof Pennsylania 1 Y Application August 16, 19 57,=Sefial No. 678,661 "Ti-Claims Cl. 74-41:4)

2,908,119 a film :2

and :the pinion, but the "facescf the tire and 'itsirespectiye rollers as well the lubrication 'beingfidone2by .,f0rced,feed of filtered oil fed throug'h an external Iheat .exchange'rlto insure the oil retaining its highest'gualities ,o'f luhfication. This avoidsfwear and necessary replacemenno'f worn pa-rts and results in lessiclownwtinie. Thus, frictional weathetween tire and the rolling ele rnentsjis' y'irtuallyi h ,andrdr all practical purposes ,the life' ;of these elements .is unlimited." f l A further object ofjt'hejinven'tion ;is to provide ,apewer assembly of the character described wherein all frot ating parts are gear linkedforsynchronous' rotation; "Thisjbuf pled with theuse of anti-friction bearings reduces friction to a "bare minimum, 'thus insuring lower "torgue'loads and longer eifective life. Some of the rotary kilns currently. in use comprise a l'continuo'u's cylindrical steel shell appropriatelymounted rotary kiln wliich wil1 give trouble-tree operationduring T the entire reflective l-ife 6f the"- k'iln "since (the structure is such as to avoidthe 'causes'oi annoying break-downs and high maintenance costs present {in the earlier machines-of itliis'zcharacter. 7 'Bhe rpresent inyention 'was -designed prjimari ly fork'ilns (if the :type :ntiwrcommon'ly nsedin' the cement, lime and iotherzchemical industr ies but the improv'edfpower unitfldf theipres'ent' invention may be usetl'with equal fac'il ity on a large variety of rotary dryers and --coo1ers and also *on rotaryeroasters, retorts, calcinersuand'the like; The rrotary driln's" used in the cement making industry generally. include a supporting roller unit a't each end of the :kiln :and la :drive unit at somepqint -intermediate its ends. All threewunits required :concrete piers 'or footings for horizontalrotation withdts charging end -can a higher plane-than "its discharge-end. 1 A kiln constructed in;.ac

cordance Witkt-he p'resentinvention comprises a number of cYIindrical -sections suitably "securedin iax-ially aligned relation by bolting and welding. ,1

Iwo o'f"these sections are herein Teferredto as firesecltions, the tire section-with the driving'meansfbei ng located adjacent the higher or-c' hargin'g endL; Two relatively short sections referred to as adaptorsareboltedto-the ends of the 2tir'esec'tion and plaincylindri'ca'lshells are weldetl at 'ithezouterendso'f the adaptors. The opposite -01" discharge end has a similartire section-without, however, any driving means l-assoc'iated therewith, and "Without means for resisting axial thrust 0f the "l 1'l-1'1i1uetoitsinclination"' which are fBXPfiIlSiYBIO construct. In the "arrangement of 1 the present invention ionly two of such footin'gs"are'-re quired for the kiln isincezthe power unit conib'ineswith it the supporting. rollers and thrust rollers for thiatend, usually theupper [or ifeed end, ;of' the apparatus. lt will be appreciated, :of zco'urse, that fit the kiln is unusually long, say of :the iorder of 30.0 :or 400 sfeet, it may'h'aye monathantwotfootingsr t i j ,Animportant object of=therinventionziis to cdmbine into a single @power unit, :located in' 'a rseal'e'd Lenclosure, that portion of the kiln @generallyn'e'fenred: to as the tire-sectioni H1e-tire :section {in invention includes the jtireand related trunnionrollers, jazgirthzgear'i and its-driving pinion, a -*=,th1=ust tire and its horizontal thrust :rolle'r and the supporting base. I M 1 -'1 -Since all mechanical :parts :are :housed in-a sealed enclosure, ;dust-iand abrasive elements :a'aze :excluded which adds incalculably-"zto the "life :of :rthefmechanical components.- This vsingle :unitjis :located a't'oneiof the Cal-f culated [reaction pointsand because it eliminates 0ne-supporting :concrete ;pier, it-reduces ithetcdstt'of installation;

Within this sealed unit, allioftthe'rotatingielements are gear linked for synchronous :rotationismthat at' the' instantrotation is :im'partedzto .the kiln, the supporting trun nion rollers and vthe lth-rust :rollerszare rotated :also', at the identical peripheral espeedrof their tmating tires, :andithis 1n athedrawi-ngs'z 1 Y I 1 Fig. leis-iaperspect ive w iew 0f t-he sealed powerfand trunnion unit of the resentinVentiDn'and looking in the direction ofathezfeed mend lot the kiln which r' otates on;an axisslightl-yinclinedito the horizontal. 1 c c .t :Fig. l is'azperspectivewiew from the oppositcorne'r of therpower and trunnion unit sand looking in the direction of the-dischargeend whichiis lowerthan the feed :ena.

;-Fig. ,5 a erspectivewiew ofthe wlded base unit 7 ;Fig. 5 is a lbroken;:-side selevation =of' a portion of the rotating kiln unit -aand showing :the itire section assembly including thelginthgear, thesteel tireslon each s'ide thereo'f, and a partial w iew ofxthe cadaptorsnn the outer s'ideol each tire. ,viewtalso:indicates'ealslight modification inlthestnueture. i t i AFig.=6is;an endviewof Fig.5. 1 r 1 1 r Fig. S7 {is-a brokenwsection taken thi'oughi the portion of the rotating unit; carrying 1the:girth :gear, ztires:and:adaptor.

Fig. 8 is a schematic end view of the firstat-inessection lo'f theqlcilnland the powerunit rforsnotatingithe zsame; 1- f Fig ,9 Yis a broken wvert-ica'l :sectiOmthrot'zghathe liasei'finit ataxis lib- Off-lg. 8.-i -i--' 5 "f -t' V Fig; 10 -.is; a-bnoken NelZ'tiQfllySQQtiOn' atf ax-is Big-8. 1w ,l :Eig. 11 ,is,a brokenyentical-sectionvshowing' anex tem sionofithe;section;ofrEig. 9;. V l 7*: rRefer-ring ,now morepanticularly to tthe -;drawings, 5,, ,6, and 7 showtghe intersection assembly 1 fiwith. tthetdrivi lg emeans associatedz-therewith. Ihisassemblyinclude's a hollowcylindrical weldment 10 whiehds essential y :an inseparable .assembly ofparts :held {together by :welding; Tli'heweldment comprises an ,inner steel shell :11 andl-an' outer steel shell 12 mounted in-spaced, :concentric. grela tionutheretolbywa pluralityipf flat-cireu-larmings :13 \Welded, as showmat .14, r,tc the gperiphe gyv-ofithe; inner shell and to the-inner surface-of vthe,outershell; ZIIo facilitatexthewasr, sembly one of ,thmtenminal wings ,15 may ,first-lbe'twelded in plaee andahe next ing then (maxed;,intenthewannulae area and welded.

is "secured thereto at'it's axial center by. suitable means' "such as bolts 22." A fullymachined heat-trca ted forged steel tire23, rectangularin cross section, is positioned on eachsid 'of the girth gear. The outer periphery 24 of outer cylindrical 'fshell 12 at its endsis machined to a slightly jsmaller' diameter vthan the intermediate annular seat forltheg'irth'gean. The outside diameter of these tires is" equal to the' theoretical pitch diameter of the girth gear. 7,

"' Two adaptorsZS and 26 are employed for ;connecting the" tire section'tothe ladjoining shell sections. of the kiln. Adaptor 25 is essentially a single shell,.;hollo,w

is centrally positioned and suitably secured 'on said outer shell 46. On each side of gear 58 there is positioned a forged steel, heat treated trunnion roller tire 60 of rectangular cross section, mach1ned all over with an outside diameter identical to the theoretlcalpitch diameter ofthe pinion 58. The trunnion roller tires are held against axial displacement .by retainer rings 61.,

' Standard anti-friction bearing technique is employed for shaft 43 and the arrangement shown is illustrative only... Themachincd end v62 of shaft43receives race; 50 and this race is secured "against longitudinal movement at one end thereof by means shown at 63' which may comprise a star wash audlock nut and by a fixedring 38 at its opposite end. Suitable means for securmg the '15 outer race ring-52 may comprise rings 39 and 40.

A sealing plate 64 prevents dust from entering the bearing area. Shaft 43 is supported at its opposite end in rollerbearings andthe shaft has a reduced terminal section 66. The inner race 68, of this bearing is suitably cylinder withan foutwardly extending annular flange 30 and'having gussets 31 radially disposed about the shell ,to

reinforce the flange where "it joins the shell. The, outer face29 of. the annular flange adjoins the end wall ofltire 23' ahd this face has a central recessedscction 32 which is machined perpendicular to the axis of the cylinderand receives the end of shell weldment 10 so that after assembly concentric alignment of the adpators with .t he

Shell'weldment is assured; "Ihe adaptors are secured to the weldment by bolts 33.

l'ockedf against axialmovement on the shaft by atcon- -ventional star washer and lock nut/ 111c oute race1 65 is in axial floating relationship to -thebearingretainersince theilength of the shaft maychange due tov temperature'or othercauses.j I

' An essentially identical isprovided for position at axis b :It is tobe understood, however, that at this latter axis the pinion is driven by girth g,ear,16. 1 Fig. 10 shows a;vertical longitudinal section through a thrust, roller assembly for taking up thrust from face .42

. Theinnerface -34 of the adaptor .flange 3.0. and the outer: ends 35. of the gussets are machined to a predetermined depth with the plane of the :inne'nface parallel with outer face 32 and the diameter established by the machined cut concentric with the axis of the adaptor. Theouter periphery 36- of the adaptor. shell, froma point 37 adjacent ,to the point. of connection ofthe gussets with the shell,'and outwardly for-its full length, ismachined to a predetermined diameter and this outer periphery is concentric with the axis of the adaptor.

Afullymachinedheat treated forged steel thrust tire 41 having a diagonal thrust face 42 is provided to transfer the thrust load, incident to the. slope of the kiln, to a thrust, roller- The outside diameters of this thrust'tire,

V the fiange.3 0 and the tire. 23 are identical and are equal of thrust tirej4i1- The purpose of this assembly is to. provide a gear linkage which will impart synchronous rotation to a. thrust roller 74 independent of anyffrictional eontact between thrust tire 41 and the thrust.,roller.74. In order to accomplishthis ashaft 75 .is journalled in roller-bearings 76 supported on a; pedestal or. cradle 80 located in a centralrecess 81 (Fig. 3) inbase structure 54. This shaft is parallel to and is in vertical alignment with the axis of the kiln.- At one end of theshaft'a spur tooth pinion. 82 is keyed, said pinion being designed for conjugate actionwith; girth gear 16.- At-its opposite end amiter gear. 83 is keyed. A mating miter gear 84 is keyed to perpendicular .shaft85 journalled in. roller bearings' 8,6 and 87 and supported on base structure 54.

a 87. The angleofface 42 ofthrust tire 41 is determined to the theoretical pitch diameterof the girth gear 16.

Adaptor, is substantially the same asadaptor 25 except thatit'has no provision for supporting a thrust tire.

After mounting the girth gear 16 and the 'tires23'on the cylindrical weldmentthe adaptors '25-26 are secured tothe endsof theweldment and the thrust tire is positionedon adaptor 25 located in the downhill side of this tire section; 3 M v The essential. details of theedriving means are shown inFig. 9' whichisa section taken through axis b ofFig. 8. The assemblyincludes a high tensile heat-treated shaft 43 which is received in press-fit relation within a cast steel cylinder 44 forming the inner shell of a weldment 45 similar to weldment 10. This inner cylinder is mounted in spaced relation. to an outer cylinder ,46 by means of' fl at welded rings 47. The 'ends of the shaft I gear and bushing The lowerracerwpf the bean are shouldered at 43 and ground to receive theinner race ring of-a bearing structure having rollers 51 and an outer race 52 supportedand secured in arecess 53' in a base frame structure or weldment54 shown in Fig. 3.

cai ailsfss and spas; wanssg; i v I V Thecaststeel" cylindrical weldment 45 is machined to a predetermined diameter 'and has machined ends 57 perpendicular to the Apinion 58 mounted on outer This'base frame is of'sturdy construction and 'l1as verti by conventional pitch .cone calculation, in whichthrust roller 74is the mating 'memberof the-pair. The respective angles'shown satisfy the requirements of-thislthmst arrangement. [The diameter of this thrust roller at a plane where it contacts the largest diameter of the thrust 1 tireisjidentical to the theoretical pitch diameter ofthe pinion 182.1 Toinsure-this relationship being held "pro-v spacer engages a lock nut 92 forming part 'ofthe rotating shell46 hasinvolute spur teetlii59 of-propef diamet'ral 1;

pitch for conjugate action'with teeth 17 gear assembly-.r' The resultantdownward thrust loadidueto the action of thetire and roller,"less the separatin'ggforce of :thejmiteflgear, is absorbed ;by athi'ust ball bearing; the upper-:race 93 of which is 'carried'by a bushing 94 keyed atz95 to shaft 85. I 'A sleeve 96e'xtends between ing is supportedvby the frame. V a

.; Fig. 11; shows at the right a fragmentary view of the left-hand end ;of the frame shown in Fig. 1-0"withthe reducedsection 66 of shaft 43' projecting therefromf A IargegearIQZ is keyed to a shaft 103, journalled in roller bearings 104-105 supported on vertical components 106 of a secondf'base" frame 107., Suitable shaft connecting means areshown brokenflineiselw for 'connectin g shaft 66 Zan' inner reduced section 109 o $h ft'103. 0 1 is le hous g l uFis-v a s 181116 fin element in a train' of speed reducing gears located within a. housing 113. A motor (not shown) is preferably located outside of this latter housing and drives the gears shown schematically in Fig. 8.

A gear 114 on motor shaft 115 drives a larger gear 116 on shaft 117. This shaft carries a gear 118 which drives an internal gear 119 keyed to shaft 120. Another gear 1'21 fast on shaft 120 drives large gear 102 on shaft 103. The specific structure of the gear train may, of course,- vary and the arrangement shown is suggested only.

The first tire section is enclosed within a housing unit 124125 (Fig. 1) having cylindrical extensions 126127 for adaptor 25 and closed by a close fitting ring 128 which is held in place by bolts 129 and which engages a sealing gasket 130 (Fig. Fig. 1 also shows the outer end of adaptor 25 welded at 136 to an intermediate shell 137. This end of the kiln is lower than the upper end as indicated by the ground line G. A similar arrangement is provided for adaptor 26 and a cylindrical shell 132 is welded thereto at 133 (Fig. 2).

Fig. 4 shows a broken side elevation of the kiln shell with tire section 9, "which'has been described in detail, and non-driving tire section 135. This view, which omits the rolling elementssupporting tire section 9, shows the kiln on a horizontal axis but in most instances the kiln will be inclined at a slight angle from the horizontal with tire section 9 higher than tire section 135. This view also shows an important modification wherein the adaptor 25 on the downhill side of the tire section 9 is longer than that shown in Fig. 1 and constitutes the in termediate kiln section 131. The only change required in this arrangement is to provide a tire retainer 150 as a back-up for the thrust tire 41. In other words, this retainer would have substantially the same shape as the member 30 in Fig. 7 except that the cylindrical section therein indicated at 25 is omitted.

Tire section 135 includes girth gear 138 and tires 139 which may be mounted on a weldment (not shown) similar to weldment 10 and is provided with adaptors 140 and 141. Adaptor 140 is welded at 142 to shell 137 and adaptor 141 is welded at 143 to a third cylindrical shell 144. If desired the adaptors 140 and 141 may be omitted and the weldment for tire section 135 may be welded directly to shells 137 and 144.

The rolling elements which support tire section 135 on each side thereof include a pinion 147 and two trunnion rollers 148 keyed on a shaft 149. This entire assembly may be substantially similar to that earlier described in reference to tire section 9, and shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 9. The ratio of pinion and girth gear is identical to the ratio of tire and trunnion rollers and rotation of the girth gear 135 imparts rotation to pinions 147 and to trunnion rollers 148 and tires 139, resulting in positive synchronous movement of all these parts.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein Without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

What I claim is:

1. A rotary kiln comprising an elongated cylindrical shell provided with at least two tire sections and sets of rolling elements supporting said tire sections on an inclined but generally horizontal'axis, each tire section including a girth gear with involute teeth mounted on the shell and a tire on each side of the gear and whose diameter is equal to the theoretical pitch diameter of the gear teeth, a base frame for each set of rolling elements,

6 each set comprising a plurality of. shafts joufnallddn the: frame, trunnion rollers on the shafts'engaged by the tires and a pinion engaged by the girth gear, and a motor for driving at least one of said pinions, a thrust tire at one end of at least one tire .section, a thrust roller journalled rolling elements supporting said tire sections on a' gen-! erally horizontal axis, each tire section including agirth gear with involute teeth mounted on theshell and atire on each side of the gear, a base frame for each. set of rolling elements, each set comprising a pluralityof shafts journalled in the frame, trunnion rollers on-the shafts engaged by the tires and'a pinion engaged by the girth gear, and a motor for driving at least one of said pinions, athrust tire at one end of at least one tire'section and a thrust roller journalled on a substantially vertical axis on one base frame and engaged by the thrust the to absorb longitudinal thrust of the kiln, drive means connecting one girth gear with the thrust rollercomprising a miter gear connected with said thrust ro]ler,la horizontal shaft journalled onthe frame, a pinion engaging said girth gear and a second miter gear, both keyed to said shaft, the second miter gear engaging the first miter gear, the diameters of the tires and rollers, and the pitch diameters of the gears and pinions being such as to impart the same peripheral speed to all contacting rolling surfaces.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2 wherein each tire section is a rigid cylindrical structure comprising inner and outer shells connected by rings welded to the shells to provide a reinforced structure.

4. The combination with a rotary kiln having a cylindrical shell, of a tire section provided with driving means for the kiln and including a welded cylindrical structure forming part of the shell, a girth gear and a plurality of tires secured externally thereof, a base frame supporting the tire section, pinion and trunnion rollers journalled on each side of the frame engaged by the girth gear and tires, the outside diameters of the tires and trunnion rollers respectively, being equal to the theoretical pitch diameters of the girth gear and pinions, a motor for driving one of the pinions, a cylindrical adaptor secured to each end of the weldment, a thrust tire with a diagonal outer face carried by one adaptor, and a thrust roller journalled in the frame on a substantially vertical axis, engaged by the thrust tire to absorb axial thrust of the cylindrical shell, a pinion engaged by the girth gear for driving the thrust roller, a horizontal shaft journalled on the frame, a pair of engaging miter gears, one secured to the thrust roller and the other, as well as said pinion, keyed to said shaft, the diameter of the thrust roller at a plane where it contacts the largest diameter of the thrust tire being equal to the theoretical pitch diameter of the driving pinion.

5. The combination with a rotary kiln having a cylindrical shell, of a tire section provided with driving means for the kiln and including a welded cylindrical structure forming part of the shell, a girth gear and a plurality of tires secured externally thereof, a base frame supporting the tire section, pinion and trunnion rollers journalled on each side of the frame engaged by the girth gear and tires, a motor for driving one of the pinions, a cylindrical adaptor secured at each end of the weldment, a thrust tire with a diagonal face carried by one adaptor, and a thrust roller journalled in the frame on a substantially vertical axis, engaged by the thrust tire to absorb axial thrust of the cylindrical shell, a pinion engaged by the girth gear for driving the thrust roller, a horizontal shaft journalled on the frame, a pair of engaging miter gears, one secured to the thrust roller and the other, as well as 7 saidflpiniomakeyedto said shaft, the pitch diameters of the girth gearand'pinions being such as to-impartequal peripheral speed to alllcontacting rolling surfaces. r

:16. In'a" rotary kiln having a cylindrical shell and provided with a plurality of base frames'with rolling elements for supporting the shell, the combination of a tiresection forming'asection of the'shell, and driving means therefor, said tire section including inner and outer spaced cylindrical shells, and means connecting the same to form a reinforced structure, a girth gear and plural pinion engaged by the girth gearand trunnion rollers engaged by and supporting the tires, saidpinion and rollers securedto each shaft, the external diameters of thetiresand rollers, respiectively, being equal to the theoretical pitch diameters ofthe girthgear and pinion,-

a motor for driving at least one pinion, a thrust tire,

secured to the tire section and a shaft journalled in said frame on a substantially vertical axis, a thrust roller carried on said shaft and engaging thethrust tire to take up axial thrust, a third shaft journalled in said frame and provided with apinion engaged by the girth gear, and gears connecting said shaft with the thrust roller to drive thesame at the same peripheral speed as the thrust the 7. A. drive and, thrusttmechanism for a rotary 'kiln having an elongated cylindrical shell, said mechanism 7 10' tiressecuredexternally of the-outer shell, the rolling elements including a shaft on each side of one frame, a

including-a tire section, the tire section comprising-a reinforced cylindrical structure forming a part of the shell, a girth gear and a plurality of tires securedexternally thereof, rolling elements jou rnalled I on therbase frame including two spaced shafts and a pinionand a plurality of trunnion rollers secured to each shaft and engaging, respectively, the girth gear and thetires, the 7 outside diameters of the tires and trunnion rollers, respect tively, being equal to the theoretical pitch diameter of the girth gear and pinion, a motor for driving at least 7 one of the pinions, and a trust tire with a diagonal References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Traylor Oct. 2, 1951 

